Lamesa Road project to be complete in September

Published 12:09 am, Thursday, June 12, 2014

Construction crews work on North Lamesa Rd. near East Pecan Ave. on Wednesday. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Construction crews work on North Lamesa Rd. near East Pecan Ave. on Wednesday. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Photo: James Durbin

Lamesa Road project to be complete in September

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After years of delays and residents’ disappointment, reconstruction of Lamesa Road is coming to an end.

Resurfacing of the east side road, the final of five phases, was nearly complete by Wednesday evening. The resurfaced road is void of the potholes and cracks that used to plague the thoroughfare for years.

For George Lara, owner of an automotive shop on Lamesa Road, the project’s near completion is a welcome change.

“After 2 1/2 years, we’re excited to have our street back to its normal condition, well, a better condition really,” said Lara, who had been critical of the city’s numerous delays.

To get to the better-than-before condition, the city split the Lamesa Road project into five phases.

The city began phase one, fixing the water mains, in January 2012 and finished in September of that year. Phases two through four, which were traffic signal installations, sidewalk installations and wastewater main and manhole rehabilitations, began in 2013 and have all been completed as well.

The final road-paving phase and other miscellaneous improvements not categorized into a phase are all expected to be complete by September. Some future tasks include grinding the surface of the road to give the freshly repaved concrete a smoother texture and adjusting the utilities in the roadway.

The repaving contractor, Reece Albert Inc. of San Angelo, used roller- compacted concrete for the project. The process, faster and more cost- effective compared to traditional concrete, led to completion of the northbound lane repaving between Walnut Lane and Dormard Avenue in three days.

“The benefit is the cost of ownership over time,” said Chris Cornell, who does business development for Reece Albert. “Asphalt requires periodic maintenance, a seven- to 10-year cycle, whereas roller-compacted concrete might go 20 to 25 years before any significant maintenance takes place.”

The completion of Lamesa Road was on Jerry Morales’ mind when he became mayor, making it one of his first priorities. He said it was a hot issue for which residents of the south and east sides want closure.

“I feel for the residents and I feel for the businesses that had to deal with this issue,” Morales said.

Lara, sounding relieved that Lamesa Road is repaved, hopes traffic will increase again after drivers sought alternate routes during construction.

“It just took longer than what I would have liked,” Lara said. “But I am appreciative of the investment.”